Day 8: The Big Day!

The day began (like any other day in Italy) with water filling…

And flower prepping…

Marissa arranged the most beautiful center pieces for the table.

And grounds preparation…

Should we walk down this path?

Should this be the ceremony backdrop?

Or maybe here?

When we looked at pictures online of weddings here and even after arriving at the Villa, this is where we thought we wanted the ceremony. We had a couple hot days of rethinking it and considering a cooler spot.. Luckily we didn’t have to. The rain cooled everything down and our wonderful photographer Elizabeth agreed this was the best spot. 

Once we knew where the ceremony would be, everyone started arranging the chairs. It really took a village to marry off these two broads.

Alright, we had picked out the location for everything. We had given out all sorts of tasks. We were ready to start getting ready. 

Let’s call this chapter “Kelly does hair.”

First Kris…

Then, mine. 

And then her own… well really Mandy did a lot of it, but there is so much of it. She had to cut out to get herself ready, because we had everyone on a tight calendar. Family pictures were at 5 pm sharp!

We took a small break to check out all the well dressed people getting led around for pictures. And to show off the stars of the show, Kelly’s dangly earrings. Johan showed the proper amount of excitement. 

Family picture time!! We could not be happier with how they all turned out. Everyone looked wonderful. And it’s almost as if they were given a color wheel, they all look so good together. 

Let’s announce all the Wedding cast members (from left to right and ages for the kids)

Malia’s parents and aunt: Jeri, Mike and Janet

Kelly’s parents: MO and Kris

Kelly’s younger brother and family: Nora (9), Corey and Marissa

Malia’s oldest brother and family: Cy (11), Landon (5), Marlene, Conor and Miles (15)

Malia’s older brother and family: Justin, Brantley(6), Christina and Brielle(11)

And all the friends who are family:

Johan and Mandy

Andrew, Ava (6), and Lavi

And last but definitely not least - the amazing priestess and Kelly’s best friend since forever, Jasmine! 

Now it’s our turn to hang with Elizabeth…

Taking pictures is serious business, but Elizabeth made us feel comfortable with her and the lens. We were glad we did it before the ceremony to get prepped for all eyes on us. 

Now for the show you have all been waiting for…

Our parents walked us down the steps

It was right around now that Jasmine and Marissa spoke telepathically realizing the rings were still up in the room. Without a single word, Marissa (the heroic ring bearer) jumped up and had the rings in no time. Pretty impressive work ladies!

Jasmine curated the most beautiful ceremony. We can’t even explain how grateful we are to her for all the work she put into making it so perfect for us. We could feel the love. And, she made Kelly cry before me! 

We’re also thankful to our brothers for each doing a reading. They had a bet on who would cry the most. Not sure if you will be able to tell from the pictures who won the bet. 

Corey read the Apache Wedding Blessing

Justin read “You are the Bubbles”

Conor read “All I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten”

While the brothers were reading, everyone passed around our rings to say a silent wish for us over them. 

After all the wishes, the rings were returned. We said our vows and we exchanged them. Then, Christina literally helped us tie the knot. We did a European hand fasting. 

And that was it, we did it!

15 years later, we’re married!

Next up:  Group photos

The whole good-looking crew! 

Our Favorite Priestess

The Friends

The Kiddos

The Owens

The Simmons

The parents shots

The marriage license signing

And now it’s time to paaaaaarty!

Laura, the caterer from Cooking in Florence, did not disappoint.

The table was beautiful. Exactly what we asked for, maybe even better. 

The aperitivos were wonderful

Everyone couldn’t help but have a great time

Especially the kids

Even the cooler than cool 11 year olds…

The dinner was unbelievable. Course after course of deliciousness. Burrata Tortellini with fresh tomatoe sauce, white ragú spaghetti, and two types of salads. We were all stuffed and happy. 

Especially us! Here’s to everyone making us feel so special and flying half way around the world for us! 

Now for dessert - Mille feuille cake. They made it I live and it was elegant as Laura explained it. It was layers of pastry and custard, with chocolate chips and powdered sugar. 

The kids weren’t very excited. 

Everybody dance now…

If they could have, the kids would have danced until the sun came up. It was such a fun night. It was everything we could have ever wanted or even could picture was possible. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for a night we will always remember.